A–B. Listening and Speaking · Listening and Speaking Across la Francophonie

Dans mon quartier : Following and Giving Directions

A1.2 A2.1 B1.4 B2.2About 65 minutes

Learning goals

I can follow spoken directions and trace the route on a map.
I can give clear directions using the imperative (tournez, allez, prenez) with tu and vous.
I can describe where places are with prepositions (en face de, à côté de, entre... et...) and contractions (du, des).
I can check and repeat directions to make sure I understood.

Words to know

tournez à gauche / à droite
Turn left (GOHSH) / right (DRWAHT).

allez tout droit
Go straight ahead (too DRWAH). Careful: droite (right) ends with a t sound; droit (straight) doesn't.

traversez
Cross (trah-vair-SAY): Traversez la rue.

continuez jusqu'à
Keep going until / as far as (zhüs-KAH).

au coin de
At the corner of (oh KWAH(N) duh).

en face de
Across from, facing (ah(n) FASS duh).

les feux (de circulation)
Traffic lights (lay FUH). In Québec and other parts of Canada, people also say les lumières.

le quartier
The neighbourhood (kar-TYAY).

Où est la pharmacie ?

A new student just moved into your neighbourhood. Or a tourist stops you on the street. Or your grandmother, visiting from Abidjan, wants to walk to the library while you're at school. Directions are one of the most practical things you can do in French, and they combine three Grade 9 skills: listening precisely, the imperative, and prepositions of place.

Giving directions: the imperative

Directions are commands, so French uses the imperative: the verb without a subject pronoun.

Each line shows the vous form (polite, or several people), then the tu form (a friend):

tourner: Tournez à gauche. / Tourne à gauche. (toor-NAY / TOORN)
aller: Allez tout droit. / Va tout droit. (ah-LAY / VAH)
prendre: Prenez la deuxième rue. / Prends la deuxième rue. (pruh-NAY / PRAH(N))
continuer: Continuez jusqu'au parc. / Continue... (koh(n)-tee-nü-AY / koh(n)-tee-NÜ)
traverser: Traversez la rue. / Traverse...

Watch the tu form of -er verbs: it drops the -s: tu tournes → Tourne ! tu vas → Va ! (Exception: Vas-y ! keeps the s before y, for the sound.)

With a stranger, an adult, or more than one person, use the vous form.

Four basic moves. Left and right always depend on which way the person is facing, so imagine you're walking.

Pronouns with the imperative

In Grade 8 writing, you placed pronouns with commands. In speech it's the same:

Affirmative: pronoun after the verb, with a hyphen: La rue Laurier ? Prenez-la à gauche. · Suivez-moi ! (Follow me!) · Allons-y ! (Let's go!)
Negative: pronoun before the verb: Ne la prenez pas, elle est fermée. (Don't take it, it's closed.)

Where is it? Prepositions of place

à côté de (next to) · en face de (across from) · près de / loin de (near / far from)
entre... et... (between... and...) · au coin de (at the corner of) · au bout de (at the end of)
devant / derrière (in front of / behind) · à gauche de / à droite de

When these end in de, remember the contractions: de + le = du (à côté du parc), de + les = des (près des feux), but de la and de l' don't change (en face de la bibliothèque, près de l'école).

Ordinal numbers for streets: la première rue (pruh-MYAIR), la deuxième (duh-ZYEM), la troisième (trwah-ZYEM).

Follow the dashed route: leaving the school, turn left onto rue Principale, go straight to rue Champlain, turn right. The pharmacy is on the left, across from the park.

Directions on the map, explained

Here are the directions for the dashed route. Read them while you trace the route with your finger:

« En sortant de l'école, tournez à gauche sur la rue Principale. Allez tout droit et traversez la rue Laurier. Continuez jusqu'à la rue Champlain, puis tournez à droite. La pharmacie est à gauche, en face du parc. »

Why left, then right? When you walk out of the school door, you face south (toward the street). Your left is east, so tournez à gauche takes you east along rue Principale. At rue Champlain, you're facing east, so turning right takes you south. Facing south on rue Champlain, the pharmacy (east side) is on your left and the park (west side) is on your right: the pharmacy is en face du parc.

Worked example

Let's follow directions while listening

Use the map. A grown-up reads these directions aloud (or read them once and cover them). Start at the star. Where do you end up?

« Bonjour ! Alors, en sortant de l'école, tournez à gauche. Allez tout droit sur la rue Principale. Traversez la rue Laurier, puis traversez aussi la rue Champlain. C'est tout de suite à gauche, au coin de la rue Champlain et de la rue Principale. Vous ne pouvez pas le manquer ! »

Leaving the school, turn left: you're heading east on rue Principale.
Cross rue Laurier (you pass the dépanneur on your left), then cross rue Champlain.
Tout de suite à gauche (right away on the left): heading east, the left side is the north side. The building at the corner of rue Champlain and rue Principale, north side, is the library.
Vous ne pouvez pas le manquer ! = You can't miss it! (manquer = to miss)

You end up at la bibliothèque. Check yourself by repeating: Alors, je tourne à gauche, je vais tout droit, je traverse deux rues, et c'est à gauche ?

Worked example

Let's give directions to a friend (tu)

Your friend is at the park and wants to get to the dépanneur. Give directions with tu, then describe where the dépanneur is.

Look at the map: the dépanneur is directly across rue Principale from the park.
Use the tu imperative (no -s on -er verbs): Sors du parc du côté de la rue Principale. (sortir: tu sors → Sors !)
Traverse la rue Principale. Le dépanneur est juste en face.
Describe it with prepositions: Le dépanneur est en face du parc, entre l'école et la bibliothèque.

Sors du parc du côté de la rue Principale et traverse la rue. Le dépanneur est juste en face du parc, entre l'école et la bibliothèque.

Checking and responding

When you receive directions, repeat the key steps to check: Donc, je tourne à droite aux feux, et c'est la deuxième rue à gauche ? If you missed something: Pardon, vous pouvez répéter plus lentement ? (Sorry, can you repeat more slowly?) or C'est loin ? (Is it far?) · C'est à combien de minutes à pied ? (How many minutes' walk is it?)

Responding to directions can also mean doing something: tracing a route on a map, drawing an arrow, or writing a quick note.

Just for fun

Riddle: Quel est le comble pour un GPS ? (What's the worst thing that could happen to a GPS?)

Perdre le nord ! In French, perdre le nord (to lose the north) means to lose your bearings, or to get totally confused.

Hands-on activity

La chasse au trésor (Treasure hunt)

You need: a small object to hide (a spoon, a sock, a toy), paper and pencil, and a partner.

While your partner waits in another room, hide the object somewhere safe and easy to reach (no climbing, no stairs in the dark).
Write directions using at least 4 imperatives and 3 prepositions: Va tout droit jusqu'à la cuisine. Tourne à gauche. Avance de cinq pas. Le trésor est derrière la boîte à pain, à côté du grille-pain.
Read them aloud once at normal speed. Your partner must repeat the steps back (Donc, je vais tout droit...) before moving.
Swap roles if possible.
Extension: Draw a simple map of your real neighbourhood (home, school, a park, a store) and record directions from your home to one place. Use vous this time, as if speaking to a visitor.

What to look for: droite vs droit pronounced differently, tu imperatives without -s (Tourne, Va), and du / des used correctly.

Your turn

Give the vous and tu imperatives of traverser.

On the map, where is the centre communautaire? Use two prepositions.

Say: Turn right at the traffic lights (vous).

Correct: Tu vas tout droit et tournes à gauche ! (as a command)

Fill in: La pharmacie est en face ___ parc.

Ask someone to repeat more slowly, politely.

More practice: warm-up

What does tout droit mean?

What does à côté de mean?

Say the second street in French.

What does Suivez-moi ! mean?

What is le quartier?

More practice: on your own

Starting from the star, write directions to the centre communautaire.

Replace the noun with a pronoun: Prenez la rue Champlain. Then make it negative.

Explain the difference between Tournez à droite and Allez tout droit, including pronunciation.

You hear: « C'est la troisième rue à gauche, au bout de la rue, entre la banque et le cinéma. » Repeat it back to check.

Fill in with du, de la, de l' or des: (a) près ___ école (b) à côté ___ feux (c) en face ___ bibliothèque

Challenge

You're on rue Principale facing west, right in front of the library. Which way do you turn to go south on rue Champlain? Explain.

Give directions (vous) from the pharmacy back to the school, using at least 3 steps.

Why does a French speaker say Vas-y ! with an -s, but Va à l'école ! without one?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is the correct tu command?

Allez tout droit means...

On the map, the pharmacy is...

Choose the correct sentence.

Prenez-la is the affirmative command. The negative is...

Why is it smart to repeat directions back?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Students follow spoken directions and trace routes (A1.2, A2.1), and give directions with the imperative and prepositions (B1.4, B2.2).

How to help: Do the treasure hunt. Even if you don't speak French, your teen can read the directions and you can follow the gestures and place words they teach you. On a walk, ask them to narrate the route in French.

Common difficulties:

Droit vs droite: straight vs right. The t sound is the difference.
Left and right on a map: encourage turning the map, or the body, to face the direction of travel.
Adding -s to tu commands of -er verbs (Tournes ! ✗).
Forgetting du/des: à côté du parc, not à côté de le parc.

Safety: Hide the treasure only in safe, reachable places. If your teen practises directions outdoors, go together and follow normal road-safety rules.